EUROPA League
FULL TIME: WOLVES 0-1 SEVILLA -EUROPA LEAGUE – SHAKHTAR DONETSK 4-1 BASEL
Gooooal!
Van Wolfswinkel (Basel) scores!
A consolation for Basel and a memorable moment for the returning striker whose career was threatened by injury. Campo breaks down the right and sends a low centre across the face of goal, bobbling through to substitute Van Wolfswinkel, who converts from close range.
Full Time: Wolves 0-1 Sevilla
GOAL! Wolves 0-1 Sevilla (Ocampos 88′)
Heartbreak for Wolves!
Banega does not take the corner this time, but it is played back to him and he gets his delivery right.
That being said, Ocampos still has a lot to do but his glancing header gives Patricio no chance as he nets his 17th of the season.
Gooooal!
Dodô (Shakhtar Donetsk) scores!
85min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
Wolves may have had the best chance of the evening but Lopetegui will be furious that his side have missed the headers they have created.
Their latest falls to En-Nesyri from a Banega corner, and he heads over after good pressure from Ruben Neves.
That is En-Nesyri’s final involvement, as he is replaced by Luuk de Jong, who has not scored in 10 games, while Franco Vazquez replaces Joan Jordan.
Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 Basel
A third and decisive goal it looks like for the Ukrainian side, with Alan Patrick netting their third from the penalty spot.
71min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
Twenty minutes to go in this one and we are no closer to finding out who will face Manchester United in the semi-finals.
Diego Carlos is receiving some treatment here, and he has done well since giving away the penalty.
Him and Kounde have given themselves a few yards to defend against Traore who has failed to recreate his run in the first half.
61min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
There may be no crowd in the stadium, but the tension is palpable as Dendoncker does well to come back and stop Jordan from unleashing a shot from Fernando’s cross.
Reguilon then has a wild effort from the resulting corner, as Sevilla aim to continue their momentum.
54min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
Wolves started the first half very well, but it is Sevilla who have imposed themselves at the start of this second period.
The Sevilla defence are now not allowing space for Jimenez and Traore, with Nuno having Diogo Jota on the bench.
53min:Fernando (Sevilla) is penalised for a foul on Rúben Neves (Wolves).
49min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
Yellow card
Saïss (Wolves) is cautioned by the referee.
Suso appears to have picked up exactly where he left off, helping the Spanish side break before Ocampos is surrounded, and then to deliver a flighted ball that Doherty has to head behind for the corner.
Second half resumes
46min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
It is the Spanish side who get us back underway in Duisburg, can they muster a better performance in this half?
In the other match, Taison scored Shakhtar’s second and they look well on their way to meeting Inter Milan in a few days’ time. They lead 2-0 at half time against Basel.
Match summary
- Júnior Moraes scores 2nd-minute header
- Taison doubles lead with fine team goal
- Marcos Antônio also hits bar for Shakhtar
- Nikolić denies Júnior Moraes and Marlos
- Winners will face Inter in semi-finals
The referee blows for half-time.
That’s the end of an intriguing first half. Wolves started brightly and, of course, the best chance went their way but Jiménez fluffed his lines from the penalty spot, his weak kick allowing Bounou to save. But Sevilla improved and have had their own chances later in the half, the best of them El-Nesyri’s shot across the face of goal. Plenty more twists and turns to come.
A half of two halves. Wolves came sprinting out of the blocks, not least in the shape of Traoré whose remarkable run earned the early penalty spurned by Jiménez. Since then, Sevilla have shaken themselves into gear and are largely in control of possession. It’s well poised.
Half Time: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla45min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
One minute added on at the end of the half.
43min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
Patricio is playing in his 108th European game tonight, and he is on hand here to keep out a powerful drive from Jordan.
A couple of minutes until the break here in what has been a tight affair.
37min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
Sevilla’s star man Lucas Ocampos has had a very quiet evening so far, but he gets into the game here with a nice curling effort.
It does not add to his tally of 14 LaLiga goals for the season, not having enough curl on it to beat Patricio
Summary so far
WOLVES 0-0 SEVILLA
· Jiménez penalty saved by Bounou
· Diego Carlos fells Traoré to concede spot kick
· Rui Patrício denies Suso at other end
· Winners play Man. United in semi-finals
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 Basel
35min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
Jesus Navas has enjoyed himself down their right-hand side and has whipped in many dangerous crosses.
Wolves are struggling to get out of their own half at the moment, with Suso also picking up good positions in the hole.
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 Basel
Meanwhile in the other quarterfinal duel of Shakhtar Donetsk and Basel in in Gelsenkirchen the Ukraine side, Donetsk are cruising home comfortably with an early goal. Moraes has given the Ukranian side the lead against their Swiss opponents.
Later, they added a second goal, setting up a possible semifinal clash with Inter
24min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
We haven’t seen much from Sevilla in an attacking sense, but here is a half-chance for En-Nesyri, who can only divert the cross from the right miles over the bar.
Nuno’s men have shown a good shape to their play so far
WOLVES 0-0 SEVILLA
Match summary
- Jiménez penalty saved by Bounou
- Diego Carlos fells Traoré to concede spot kick
- Sevilla unchanged from win against Roma
- Winners play Man. United in semi-finals
Penalty missed
Jiménez (Wolves) misses from the penalty spot.
Jiménez scored the only goal against Olympiacos from the spot… But this time he’s denied! Not the best penalty you’ll ever see, not well struck, and pushed away by Bounou.
Diego Carlos (Sevilla) concedes a penalty for a foul on Traoré (Wolves).
Like Manchester United, Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves) will be hoping to snap a semi-final ticket as they take on Spanish side, Sevilla in a quarterfinal duel tonight in Duisburg.
Sevilla are the Europa League’s most successful club in the competition .The other quarter-final of the evening sees Shakhtar Donetsk and Basel battle it out in Gelsenkirchen for the chance to face Inter Milan in the other semi-final.
Crystal Palace’s appeal against UEFA’s decision to drop them from the Europa League to the third-tier Conference League was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday.
UEFA demoted Palace while allowing Olympique Lyonnais to play in the Europa League as, at the time of assessment on March 1, the Eagle Football Group were majority owners of Lyon while their chairman, John Textor, owned a controlling stake in Palace.
Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, will replace Palace in the Europa League.
“After considering the evidence, the panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC and OL and was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date,” the CAS said in a statement.
“The panel also dismissed the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL.”
Palace did not respond to a request for comment. Club chairman Steve Parish told reporters on Sunday that if Palace lost the appeal, they would “have to look if there’s any steps after that.”
The club, who qualified for the Europa League as FA Cup winners, appealed against UEFA’s decision last month.
The appeal came days before New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson completed the purchase of Eagle Football Holdings’ stake in Palace.
Textor has also resigned from Lyon’s board of directors with Michele Kang appointed chairwoman and president.
As both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League, the French club were allowed to keep their place because they had finished higher in their respective league. Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 while Palace were 12th in the Premier League.
“Olympique Lyonnais welcomes today’s decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirming its participation in the Europa League,” Lyon said in a statement.
Palace, who won the Community Shield on Sunday , beating Liverpool in a penalty shootout, are set to play in the Conference League’s qualifying playoff round later this month.
-Reuters
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UEFA has decided to postpone its assessment of the multi-club ownership case involving Olympique Lyonnais and Crystal Palace until the French club’s relegation has been confirmed, European football’s governing body said on Monday.
The multi-club ownership regulations do not allow clubs under the same ownership compete in the same European competition, and American businessman John Textor holds a stake in both Palace and Lyon.
Palace qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup last season while Lyon reached the competition by finishing sixth in Ligue 1 but have since been relegated to Ligue 2 by French football’s financial watchdog (DNCG).
Lyon are appealing the decision, which came following an audit of the club’s finances, and UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body will now await the outcome of the appeal before making its decision.
UEFA and Lyon reached a settlement agreement over the club’s breach of the financial sustainability requirements, and as part of the settlement, Lyon agreed to their exclusion from European competition should the DNCG confirm their relegation.
League of Ireland club Drogheda United lost an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier this month over their exclusion from the Conference League, after falling foul of the multi-club ownership rules.
-Reuters
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Tottenham Hotspur have sacked manager Ange Postecoglou, the club said on Friday, little more than two weeks after the Australian guided the London club to a first major trophy in 17 years with victory in the Europa League final.
While Postecoglou’s fate has split opinion amongst the fans, the 59-year-old ultimately paid the price for an horrendous Premier League season which saw Tottenham finish 17th.
“The Board has unanimously concluded that it is in the best interests of the Club for a change to take place,” Tottenham said in a statement.
“Following a positive start in the 2023/24 Premier League (PL) season, we recorded 78 points from the last 66 PL games. This culminated in our worst-ever PL finish last season.”
Postecoglou leaves two years to the day after his appointment and 16 days after his side beat Manchester United 1-0 in Bilbao for the club’s first silverware since 2008, a win that also put them in next season’s Champions League.
The former Celtic manager has had to face questions over his future for several months, yet delivered on his claim early last season that he always wins a trophy in his second season in a job
He also took Tottenham to the League Cup semi-final but their league campaign was their worst since 1976-77, the last time the club suffered relegation from the top flight.
Several of the club’s first team have voiced their support for Postecoglou since beating United, but chairman Daniel Levy is now searching for his fifth full-time manager in six years since Mauricio Pochettino was sacked in 2019.
“At times there were extenuating circumstances — injuries and then a decision to prioritise our European campaign,” the club said. “Whilst winning the Europa League this season ranks as one of the Club’s greatest moments, we cannot base our decision on emotions aligned to this triumph.”
Several managers have been linked to the Tottenham job, including Brentford’s Thomas Frank and Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner.
GOOD START
Postecoglou will walk away with his pride intact and a handsome bonus, but his recent comment to fans at the Europa League victory parade that the third season of a TV series is always better than the second now looks hollow.
It all started so well for Postecoglou. He began the 2023-24 campaign by guiding Tottenham to their best start to a top-flight season since the 1961 title-winning team.
That form soon dipped though and despite finishing fifth in his first campaign the momentum had long since gone.
This season Tottenham earned only 38 points and lost 22 top-flight matches. They managed five points from their last 12 league games and the only win they earned during that run was against a Southampton side who narrowly avoided becoming statistically the worst team ever in the Premier League.
Postecoglou has pointed to a long injury list which denied him the likes of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Dejan Kulusevski, Destiny Udogie, Dominic Solanke, James Maddison and Son Heung-min for significant periods.
But while it has clearly been one of long-serving chairman Levy’s toughest calls, he has concluded that Postecoglou is not the man to lead the club forward.
“We have made what we believe is the right decision to give us the best chance of success going forward, not the easy decision,” the club statement said.
“We have a talented, young squad and Ange has given us a great platform to build upon. We should like to express our gratitude to him. We wish him well for the future — he will always be welcome back at our home.”
Many fans reacted to the news of Postecoglou’s sacking with surprise, but England manager Thomas Tuchel said that sometimes even winning a trophy is not enough.
“I feel for every manager and I have huge sympathy for every manager in these moments because I was in the same spot,” the German, who was sacked by Chelsea despite taking them to the Champions League title, said on Friday.
“If the trust is not there anymore then sometimes it’s not enough to win a trophy.”
-Reuters
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